Since UK pensioners were granted full control of their retirement savings in April 2015, an estimated 60,000 (70%) pensioners have taken advantage of their ability to take some or all of their accumulated pension in a lump sum, with many opting to put their cash into […]

Pension Freedom Fuels Increase
In UK Property Investment

Since UK pensioners were granted full control of their retirement savings in April 2015, an estimated 60,000 (70%) pensioners have taken advantage of their ability to take some or all of their accumulated pension in a lump sum, with many opting to put their cash into property instead as an alternative to annuities, shares and bonds.

According to the latest Global Real Estate Outlook report published by property investment company IP Global, property remains a far more predictable and stable longer term option compared to alternative investments in the stock market.

In the UK, property prices in London and Manchester are leading the way, with prices in Greater London increasing by 12% in the last year alone.

New properties in Manchester may appear to be valued at less than half the average of London properties, however, residential property prices are expected to continue rising to close this gap, with new projections putting Manchester’s property price growth at a staggering 26.4% by 2019.

During the pre-election budget last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP announced some significant changes that could have a detrimental impact on landlords the UK’s private rental sector (PRS) and residential property owners.

Below are the highlights of the pre-election budget that are of relevance […]

How Landlords Are Affected By 2015 Pre-Election Budget

How Landlords Are Affected By 2015 Pre-Election Budget

During the pre-election budget last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP announced some significant changes that could have a detrimental impact on landlords the UK’s private rental sector (PRS) and residential property owners.

Below are the highlights of the pre-election budget that are of relevance to landlords and property owners:

£13 Billion (GBP) sale announced of the mortgages of UKAR – Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley (Mortgage Express) to reduce national debt which followed the bailing out of the banks.

Introduction of 20 new housing zones.

The economy of the North grew faster than the South during 2014.

The UK has the highest rate of employment in its history!
Employment is growing fastest in the North West, Yorkshire having the biggest employment.

Living standards are higher in 2015 than 2010.

Inflation forecast downgraded to 0.2%.

Low interest rates to be “locked in”.

Original target of debt reduction set in 2010 budget has been met.

13 years of rising national debt has now been stopped.

UK achieved the largest and most sustained debt reduction of any major economy according to the IMF.

Government borrowing is falling.

The wealthy are making the biggest contributions to reduce debt.

End of austerity in 2019.

The annual tax return is to be abolished. New digital tax accounts to be created.

The personal tax free allowance has been raised to £10,600 (GBP) and will be raised to £11,000 (GBP) in 2017.

The higher rate tax threshold will rise to £43,300 (GBP) by 2018.

Class 2 national insurance contributions abolished for self-employed.

Stronger measures against tax avoidance and tax evasion.

Review of avoidance of inheritance tax through deeds of variation.

New penalties for tax evasion and those professionals who assist them.

Crime down 20%.

There was some good news contained in the 2015 pre-election budget too:

SMTC Presents Dick Whittington A Pantomime For All The Family 28th – 31st January 2015

Families and theatre goers in Salford may be a little surprised by the latest pantomime offering from award winning Salford Musical Theatre Company as the annual community pantomime transports audiences back to 14th Century London town to recount the […]

SMTC Presents Dick Whittington 28th – 31st January 2015

SMTC Presents Dick Whittington
A Pantomime For All The Family

28th – 31st January 2015

Families and theatre goers in Salford may be a little surprised by the latest pantomime offering from award winning Salford Musical Theatre Company as the annual community pantomime transports audiences back to 14th Century London town to recount the tale of 3 times Lord Mayor Dick Whittington and his magic cat.

SMTC have given the pantomime their usual twist on events with comic characters filling the stage including Rover – Dick’s magic cat, who has obviously been watching too many TV adverts and wants to be more dog!

Man mad Sarah the Cook wants to find a nice rich boyfriend, Idle Jack is lazily obsessed with roses and Alice Fitzwarren, who doesn’t even notice. Her father, Alderman Fitzwarren is fed up of his shop being plagued by rats, and so is Sheik Dabooty of Abu Dhabi, who could be a dead ringer for TV’s Celebrity Juice host Keith Lemon and there are plenty more surprises in store for the cast and audiences as the evil King Rat tries everything to stop Dick being made Lord Mayor of London, including framing Dick for a crime he did not commit and sending his hordes of ratlings to eat everyone’s sweets and generally cause havoc!

Significant Proportion Of UK Lettings And Property Managing Agents Still Not Signed Up To Mandatory Redress Schemes

The head of one of the three mandatory property redress schemes in the UK private rental sector insists that a significant proportion of letting agents have yet to sign up, contrary to the recommendations from the UK property […]

Underwhelming Redress Scheme Sign Up

Significant Proportion Of UK Lettings And Property Managing Agents Still Not Signed Up To Mandatory Redress Schemes

The head of one of the three mandatory property redress schemes in the UK private rental sector insists that a significant proportion of letting agents have yet to sign up, contrary to the recommendations from the UK property industry

Property ombudsman for the Property Redress Scheme, Sean Hooker, says there is some confusion over how many UK lettings and property managing agents have actually signed up to one of the mandatory redress schemes, due to uncertainty over what property service providers should be regarded as a lettings or property managing agents.

Is The UK Property Market Just Experiencing A Seasonal Slowdown Or Is It Something Worse?

There are a lot of reports in the media attempting to suggest that the UK property market is doomed to failure, with the latest House Price Indices (HPI) published by mortgage lenders suggesting that the UK property market is […]

Are Property Price Rises Slowing?

Is The UK Property Market Just Experiencing
A Seasonal Slowdown Or Is It Something Worse?

There are a lot of reports in the media attempting to suggest that the UK property market is doomed to failure, with the latest House Price Indices (HPI) published by mortgage lenders suggesting that the UK property market is slowing, however there are fears that it might be in more serious trouble.

Halifax latest figures show that property prices in the three months prior to September 2014 were 2.7% higher than in the preceding quarter but there was an average 0.6% property price rise across the UK during September, resulting in an average property price of £187,188 (GBP).

Halifax say that this is the second successive decline in the quarterly rate and predict that the annual house price growth rate has already peaked at 10% and future growth will be at a considerably slower pace.

55% of tenants in the UK’s private rented sector (PRS) have experienced problems with their landlord or their appointed letting agents according to the latest research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

The most common issue which affected 31% of PRS tenants was the […]

MPPT Spotlight are focusing on Tenants this week with a series of articles on getting the best out of tenants

Tenants Admit Having Problems With Landlords And Letting Agents

55% of tenants in the UK’s private rented sector (PRS) have experienced problems with their landlord or their appointed letting agents according to the latest research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

The most common issue which affected 31% of PRS tenants was the length of time taken to fix problems in rental properties including issues with boilers, heating and electrical outlets.

Once a problem was raised, tenants have waited an average of 36 days for the problem to be fully resolved. However over 14% of PRS tenants never had their rental property problems fixed at all, according to the research.

18% of tenants surveyed also reported frustrating delays with landlords not replacing worn out fixtures and fittings on demand, including requests to replace old or damaged kitchen cupboards or tired and worn carpets.

14% of the tenants surveyed, felt that their complaints about repair issues were either ignored or brushed off by landlords or their appointed letting agents.

Rental returns on buy to let properties are best in cities like Southampton, Manchester and Nottingham, where as many as one in four properties are owned by landlords in the private rented sector.

Portfolio landlords and property investors are looking beyond London to identify regions where rental yields […]

UK Cities With Best and Worst Property Investment Yields

Best And Worst UK Property Investment Hotspots

Rental returns on buy to let properties are best in cities like Southampton, Manchester and Nottingham, where as many as one in four properties are owned by landlords in the private rented sector.

Portfolio landlords and property investors are looking beyond London to identify regions where rental yields are almost three times as high as in the capital.

Rental yield is calculated by measuring the rental income against the properties cost

The latest data on buy-to-let yields provided by the HSBC bank, also shows the proportion of properties in each area that are already owned by landlords, with landlords already owning more than one in four properties in many of the top-yielding areas.

HSBC’s report draws on official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Land Registry with rental data provided by Home.co.uk.

Top Property Investment Hotspots Revealed

Southampton, currently tops the list for rental returns with rental yields of 8.73% Manchester has rental yields of around 7.98%

Nottingham has rental yields of around 7.67%

Blackpool has rental yields of around 7.63%

Hull has rental yields of around 7.47%

In all of these areas, except Hull, private rental sector (PRS) landlords already own more than one in five properties.

These areas offer relatively low property prices and have strong demand for rental property from large student and young professional populations – the characteristics that the experts say make for excellent buy-to-let investments.

Top 10 Property Investment Hot Spots By Rental Yields

Rank

Location

Housing privately rented (%)

Average house price

Average monthly rent

Gross rental yield (%)

1

Southampton

23.42

£143,011

£1,040

8.73

2

Manchester

26.85

£104,244

£693

7.98

3

Nottingham

21.64

£86,000

£550

7.67

4

Blackpool

24.16

£77,899

£495

7.63

5

Kingston upon Hull

19.02

£68,243

£425

7.47

6

Coventry

19.02

£110,029

£650

7.09

7

Oxford

26.11

£254,514

£1,489

7.02

8

Portsmouth

22.28

£146,709

£795

6.50

9

Liverpool

21.75

£91,175

£494

6.50

10

Cambridge

23.91

£185,414

£1,001

6.48

The lowest rental yields were registered in areas such as London where recent property price rises have outpaced the growth in rental yields and in some areas like Westminster 38% of property is privately rented.

Worst 10 Property Investment Areas By Rental Yield

Location

Housing privately rented (%)

Average house price

Average monthly rent

Gross rental yield (%)

Kensington and Chelsea

33.97

£1,236,605

£2,968

2.88

Thanet

21.96

£189,362

£524

3.32

Hastings

27.19

£184,787

£520

3.38

Haringey

30.33

£425,541

£1,200

3.38

Westminster

37.56

£890,272

£2,578

3.47

Hammersmith and Fulham

30.05

£685,797

£2,004

3.51

Richmond upon Thames

20.55

£540,379

£1,699

3.77

Camden

30.46

£715,831

£2,383

3.99

Ipswich

18.75

£158,925

£546

4.12

Lincoln

19.36

£124,789

£433

4.16

Head Of Mortgages at HSBC Peter Dockar, said: “House prices in the top-yielding locations – while still out of reach among many first time buyers – are relatively affordable for landlords investing in property and the demand from young professionals has pushed up rents and driven up the returns. London is often seen as the haven of property investment with many believing the streets are paved with gold. However, while the highest rents in the country are an attractive draw for landlords, high house prices in the capital squeeze yields and limit the returns available. As a result, returns can often be far more attractive in other areas so it certainly pays for landlords to do their research.”

Opportunity to share your property or business challenges and frustrations with a successful property and business guru in a very small intimate group setting where you can get tailored advice to help you with your own unique situation.

If you’re in London, […]

Is Your Property Business Stuck In A Rut?

Is Your Future Being Held Back By Property or Business Issues?

Opportunity to share your property or business challenges and frustrations with a successful property and business guru in a very small intimate group setting where you can get tailored advice to help you with your own unique situation.

If you’re in London, Manchester or Northampton and you are struggling to make good money from this crazy property business (and by good – more than £50,000 a year), then come and join Matthew Moody at an exclusive “Leaders Briefing”

Operating a business right now that eats at your time and doesn’t give you room to enjoy life

Own a bunch of properties, maybe looking at deals but there is no congruity in what you do

Wanted to get a really good hold of what your business is doing and where its going

Have a lack of good quality consistent leads coming in

Wanted to get started in business but just not sure where to start or what to focus on

You figure there must be more to this crazy business and life than you’re getting right now

If you identify with one of the above descriptions, then you need to be at Matthew Moody’s Leaders Briefing.

You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about Matthew’s “Six Figure Business Circle Programme” which starts again later this month where he will be working with investors and property owners to accelerate their businesses to the next level. (whatever that may be for you).

Do yourself a favour this year and make your property business achieve the goals you always dreamt of, I did and the results have been great, I rediscovered my focus and got my property investments back on track, to the point where the deals are flowing straight to me.

If you are serious about building a property business and want some proven and very effective short-cuts but also some one-to-one support from Matthew, then do not delay but book your place right now.

Matthew will only be meeting with a limited number of investors per meeting so once the spaces have gone, the spaces have gone.

Spend 90 minutes with Matthew and see how you can transform your business using simple step-by-step strategies that work time and time again.

It has been well documented over recent years that there has been a cultural and generational shift towards renting in the UK with “Generation Rent” emerging as the dominant force in the UK property market.

The shift towards the continental style […]

UK PRS Expanded By 1 Million Households In 5 Years

One Million More Rented Households In UK
Since 2009 With More To Come

It has been well documented over recent years that there has been a cultural and generational shift towards renting in the UK with “Generation Rent” emerging as the dominant force in the UK property market.

The shift towards the continental style of living in rented property has been largely influenced by the difficulty for people to raise the necessary deposit and finance for property ownership.

CBRE believe that significant activity by UK Buy-to-Let property investors and foreign nationals acquiring property in major towns and cities within the UK has also contributed significantly, and the influence of these interested parties is still growing.

Government housing minister Kris Hopkins has welcomed a deal that will release £500 Million (GBP) of additional funding to build new affordable residential properties in the UK.

The new investment finance has been secured through an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), that will help deliver up to 4,300 new and affordable homes to rent in areas of the UK.

The funding is set to form part of the £3.5 Billion (GBP) Affordable Housing Guarantees programme, which enables housing associations to use Government guarantees to secure private investment at more competitive rates than they would otherwise be able to secure.

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